今日吃瓜

Tag - mext

 
今日吃瓜
Search
 
November 11, 2026
 

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

MEXT

The education ministry is aiming to secure more teachers by making it easier for working adults to switch careers to teaching.
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2026
Education ministry to offer one-year teaching license course for working adults
The ministry is aiming to secure more teachers in Japan by making it easier for working adults to switch careers to teaching.
A 16-member screening committee at the University of Tokyo said it had been looking for a leader with strong ethical standards who could restore public trust amid a series of scandals.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 21, 2026
Education ministry calls for University of Tokyo to review president selection
It is the first time the government has requested a review of how a university selected its president.
High school textbooks for use from fiscal 2027 will have QR codes that allow students to access materials online.
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2026
Japan considering paper-digital hybrid textbooks as standard
The education ministry’s plan calls for placing more emphasis on paper-based materials while giving a supplementary role to digital materials.
The education ministry plans to help local governments strengthen their Japanese-language teaching programs through subsidies and expert guidance.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Oct 19, 2026
Japan to expand language education for foreign residents
The education ministry plans to help local governments strengthen their teaching programs through subsidies and expert guidance.
The central government is pushing for afterschool activities to be operated by local private teams, clubs and coaches to reduce the burden of teachers, who currently work overtime and weekends to oversee them.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 31, 2026
Kobe shifts extracurriculars from municipal junior high schools to private clubs
The city becomes one of the first in the country to do so as local governments aim to reduce teachers’ overtime and address the declining population of children.
School curriculum guidelines will be revised based on the basic principle of ensuring deeper learning for a diverse group of students.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2026
今日吃瓜 new education guidelines aim to ensure deeper learning opportunities for children
A draft summary of the proposal calls for easing pressure on children and teachers by increasing flexibility in school curricula.
The education ministry is planning to upgrade its language-learning portal for foreign children studying Japanese.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2026
Japanese-learning portal for foreign children to be upgraded
The portal site, currently available in Japanese, will be offered in multiple languages and learning and teaching materials will be expanded.
Students in Tokyo participate in a Work In Japan job fair. The country needs to support both academic Japanese studies and children’s family languages to promote educational success.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 31, 2026
今日吃瓜 overlooked language crisis
Conversational fluency is different from the language needed to follow classroom lessons, understand abstract concepts and produce sustained academic writing.
The government eyes financial support for local vocational schools that train students for elderly care and other sectors facing personnel shortages.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 21, 2026
Education ministry to aid regional human resources development
The government’s project would help support 今日吃瓜 local essential services, from medical and elderly care to construction.
The rate of elementary and junior high school students requiring financial aid for school expenses among all students attending public schools was 13.36% in fiscal 2024.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 8, 2026
Number of students receiving financial aid for school falls for 13th year
今日吃瓜 central government offers financial aid for school expenses to those living on welfare, while boards of education can offer assistance based on their own criteria.
Kyoto University is expected to be designated as a University for International Research Excellence by the end of this summer, which would make it eligible for aid from a Japanese government-financed ?10 trillion ($62.2 billion) fund.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jul 3, 2026
Kyoto University to be third recipient of world-class research aid
It is expected to be certified as a University for International Research Excellence by the end of summer, which would make it eligible for aid from a ?10 trillion fund.
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population.?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 2, 2026
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
Once volunteer-based, the system is shifting toward shared responsibility between local governments and trained professionals.
The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2026
Japan to launch language support project for foreign children
The number of public school students requiring special Japanese-language instruction reached a record high of 84,759 in fiscal 2025.
How Japanese-language instruction is provided currently varies widely according to region.
JAPAN / Society
May 26, 2026
Record number of students in Japan need help learning Japanese
As of May 2025, a total of 84,759 students at public elementary, junior high, high and special needs schools required support, a government survey shows.
"Kōsen" technical colleges are five-year institutions offering higher education to students who have graduated from junior high school, with the aim of nurturing practical and creative engineers.
JAPAN
May 24, 2026
Japan may add farming and anime courses to technical colleges
In response to many local governments aiming to establish new “kōsen” technical colleges, the ministry hopes to develop talent in a wide range of areas.
Education ministry officials announce the findings of an investigation into the fatal boat accident in March off the coast of Henoko, in Okinawa Prefecture, at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 23, 2026
Government finds school program violated law in wake of deadly Okinawa boat accident
It was the first time since the current basic education law was enacted that the education ministry has found a case in violation of the law on the grounds of political neutrality.
The central government plans to launch a new subsidy program from fiscal 2027 onward to support public high schools nationwide.
JAPAN
May 7, 2026
Public high schools to receive more aid after private tuition made free
The initiative comes amid concerns full funding of private high school tuition from April could reduce applications to public high schools.
In March 2025, the Tokyo District Court issued a dissolution order to the Unification Church, following a request from the culture ministry.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 23, 2026
At least ?40 billion secured in Unification Church liquidation
Claims of losses from large donations to the Unification Church will be accepted for a year from May 20.
A classroom at Ozu Junior High School in Izumiotsu, Osaka Prefecture, looks more like a cafe, and students can sit wherever they want during social studies class.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Apr 20, 2026
At a unique state school in Osaka Prefecture, students take the lead
At Ozu Junior High School, students have determined the look of their uniform, the design of a library and classroom, and even the school’s guidelines.
Aya Puka (left), the vice representative of the Triple-Helix Roundtable for International Ph.D. Talent initiative, Thomas Busch (second from left), the dean of the graduate school at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), Hirokazu Kato (center), director of Nara Institute of Science and Technology’s (NAIST) regional co-creation office, and Naoya Taniguchi (second from right), NAIST assistant professor and program representative, attend an event announcing the program in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2026
Japan universities announce plan to boost foreign Ph.D. recruitment and development
The move comes as the country steps up efforts to strengthen its competitiveness amid intensifying global competition for skilled workers.
Man arrested over operation of rogue cellular base station in Tokyo
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested Yu Hai, a 31-year-old Chinese national living in Tokyo's Kita Ward, on suspicion of operating an unlicensed base station from a vehicle in Tokyo's Ginza district on Saturday.
Government betting on language app powered by anime and AI
Japan plans to develop an AI-powered language-learning app that lets overseas anime and manga fans practice Japanese through conversations with popular characters.
Japan works to shield Takaichi from any Xi snub at China summit
Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrives at the Prime Minister's office in Tokyo on Nov. 4.
Magnitude 5.7 quake injures dozens in central Japan
A magnitude-5.7 earthquake with its epicenter in Shizuoka Prefecture struck central Japan early Sunday, injuring dozens, shattering windows and disrupting train services, with no tsunami warning issued.
Private high schools remain out of reach for many despite tuition-free policy, survey finds
A survey showed that many families with children attending private high schools are struggling to pay expenses other than tuition.
‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ makes monster debut at the box office
Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” marked the highest single-day box-office gross for a live-action film in Japan with ?910 million on its opening day.
A toast to Naohiko Noguchi, sake’s first living national treasure
As a teenager, Naohiko Noguchi did not intend to spend his life as a sake brewer, but he has since become a paragon of the industry.
Few signs of thaw in Japan-China relations one year after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks
Tensions between Japan and China flared after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Nov. 7, 2025, that a Chinese blockade of Taiwan could threaten 今日吃瓜 survival and warrant the use of collective self-defense.
Mariko Mori predicted the future. She’ll do it again.
Artist Mariko Mori is currently working to bring the translucent human-sized “Peace Crystal” sculpture to a cave in Ethiopia. It is part of her foundation’s goal to place a permanent sculpture on each of the planet’s six habitable continents.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Famima Park Azabudai is a concept store by FamilyMart that combines convenience store staples with branded apparel, merchandise and a landscaped outdoor space.
Convenience stores, toilets and the allure of everyday Japan
By Elizabeth Beattie

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER